


Fireborn

by CrystalNavy



Series: Legacy of Flame [1]
Category: One Piece
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-03
Updated: 2018-06-10
Packaged: 2019-05-17 19:43:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14837993
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrystalNavy/pseuds/CrystalNavy
Summary: The girl had her father's vibrant black hair and striking grey eyes. Sabo stood there, speechless. This was what he had always wanted, the last remnant of everything he had lost. And he wasn't going to let that go.





	1. The child of the future

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We all have our secrets.

"Sabo-kun." a voice rang out

Sabo pretended not to hear it and continued filling out the paperwork

"Sabo-kun." the voice repeated

"What is it, Morley?" Sabo looked up, resigned

"I know you miss your brother, Sabo-kun." Morley handed Sabo a piece of parchment "That's why I believe this should cheer you right up."

Sabo rolled his eyes. How could a single piece of parchment heal his grief? He should have been there, should have shielded both of his brothers from that bastard's attack. Now nothing did matter anymore. Even if the Revolutionaries achieved a new goal, the world had no meaning. Not without Ace in it. There was supposed to be three of them, and there were only two.

"It will help you heal." Morley said in a tone that left no room for argument "I know it will. You might not believe me, but it is true."

Sabo decided to humor his giant companion and opened the parchment. As he read, his eyes grew wider and wider.

  
Dear Sabo,  
It is incredibly risky to be writing this to you, but I owe it to Ace. He talked about you a lot. The Spade Pirates and some of the Whitebeard Pirates all know the truth, though none of my superiors do. Especially not Akainu.  
Seek out a man named Masked Deuce. He was your brother's first mate. He holds all the answers you might have.  
With kind regards  
Isuka

P.S: Once you read this letter, burn it.  


A smile crept onto Sabo's face as he finished. As instructed, he tossed the letter into the open flame.

"I was right, see?" Morley said in a smug tone "It did cheer you right up."

"Prepare a boat, Morley." Sabo smiled "You and I are going on a trip."

-x-

"What brings you here, Isuka?" Masked Deuce asked jovially "Not that I mind, but the Captain is dead."

"I know." Isuka's tone was somber "But you are the one he trusted more than anyone. There is something he didn't tell you, though, so I will tell you in his stead."

Isuka pulled out a small blanket from under her coat. 

"This is my daughter." Isuka said gently "And Ace's daughter. You will be her safe-keeper until the man I've chosen arrives. You'll know who he is and you'll give my baby for him to raise."


	2. Little flame

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sabo takes custody of his little niece and finally has motivation to help the Revolutionary army out: to ensure she can live in the world where people won't be out to get her because of her ancestry.

Sabo took a deep breath. He asked around and everyone told him that the person he was looking for lived in the hut in front of him. Morley stayed behind in the village, and Sabo brought along Isuka's letter as the proof that she had sent him. Before he could knock on the door, a human projectile had rammed into him. It was a young girl, about 3 years old, and very energetic. Behind her, a man was climbing the slope. He was old, but Sabo could feel his inner strength radiating in droves.

"Hello." Sabo extended his hand "You must be Ace's first mate......and this must be his daughter."

"I am indeed Masked Deuce, and this is Hikaru, his final flame." the man introduced "To be completely honest, I am not too keen on giving her up. When I am in her company, I feel as if my Captain has returned to the world of the living."

"I don't exactly have to take her away....." Sabo began, but Deuce interrupted him with a jovial laugh

"Nah, you need her company more than I ever would. Her father was your brother of choice, after all." Deuce spoke warmly "Hikaru, your new caretaker has arrived. You will be leaving with him this afternoon."

Hikaru looked at Sabo, then at Deuce, and Sabo felt his heart constrict. Those eyes......it was seventeen years ago that he last saw them. The same eyes that belonged on the face that once gushed at the meager pirate fund they had gathered alongside him, the same boy that once fought with him, laughed with him, cried with him. The same boy he never had the pleasure of meeting again as an adult.....

"Yes. He seems nice." Hikaru chirped "I'll go with him."

"Then go pack your bags." Deuce instructed "You'll be having a long journey ahead of you." 

Hikaru ran into the house to complete the task, with enough enthusiasm to explode a planet, and her father's bright grin that overshone the sun itself. 

They sailed away that afternoon on the boat Sabo had borrowed from the Revolutionary army headquarters. Sabo spent the journey contemplating the new chance he had been given. Meanwhile, Hikaru spent the voyage exploring every nook and cranny of the ship with her boundless energy.

-x-

"Aren't you gonna let me work?" Sabo's eyes wandered over to Hikaru, then back at massive stack of papers resting on the desk

"Nope!" Hikaru announced cheerfully

And then she proceeded to continue her attempts to climb onto his lap.

She really was a handful, Sabo mused with exasperated kind of fondness. It didn't help that the rest of the Revolutionary army members - including Dragon himself - had been spoiling her rotten ever since Sabo brought her back to the headquarters.

But she was also family, one of the only two family members Sabo had left.

-x-

Hikaru was seven years old when she finally began to ask those kinds of questions. When she finally started desiring to know more about her origins. Ace had asked those kinds of questions when he was around that age too, but Ace made the mistake of asking random people who all hated Roger for one reason or another, and ended up hearing that he didn't deserve to be born or something similar over and over again, which resulted in him starting to hate himself. Sabo promised to himself that Hikaru won't suffer her father's fate.

"Your father was my brother. He was a great man. Even though he was sometimes grumpy and hard on others, he had a heart of gold underneath his rough exterior." Sabo told her "And your mother was a Marine officer, who chased him time and time again, hoping to turn him away from the path of piracy. They eventually fell in love and had you."

"So father was a pirate?" Hikaru cried excitedly "Then I will be a pirate too!"

"I won't allow that." Sabo said firmly

Memories of his brother's death, images from the newspaper of Akainu plunging a fist made of magma into his brother's chest......they overwhelmed him again. He won't let Hikaru to suffer the same fate at his hands. He would keep Hikaru as far away from Akainu's reach as possible. And if it meant prohibiting Hikaru from becoming a pirate, then it was the price worth paying.


	3. My enemy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's a known fact that I hate him, and I have every reason to.
> 
> Yet I am forced to serve under him day after day, pretending that I was his loyal underling after what he had done. 
> 
> And it makes my blood boil.

"Put your backs into it!" Akainu yelled at the new recruits "Those pirates won't catch themselves! If you are going to disgrace the Marines with your weakness, then I might as well put you out of your misery!"

Magma flowed out of his hand as he lunged towards one of the recruits. And suddenly, Isuka was there to intercept the attack. Akainu halted the attack, but he didn't seem pleased.

"Why did you do that?" Akainu growled at her 

"Sir, if you keep killing new recruits, there would be none left." Isuka defended

"Well, remember that you are just a Captain as of now." Akainu turned around and walked away "And know your place."

Isuka sighed as he watched him leave. The truth was that all she saw was a replay of Ace's death, especially since the new recruit in question resembled her lost love a lot. And Isuka had acted on instinct to protect Ace...her Ace. She berated herself for falling to distinguish past from the present. She had let her carefully-crafted facade slip in front of her enemy. If Akainu were to find out what their connection really was, he'd stop at nothing to find and kill Hikaru.

And speaking of Hikaru, she had to find a way to visit her daughter without making Akainu suspicious. 

He was her enemy, and she found it tiring to pretend that everything was okay, pretend to be his little puppet after he had mercilessly ripped Ace from her world. Ace was only twenty years old, and he had so much left to live for. Yet Akainu had decided that his blood was too dangerous to be kept alive and slaughtered an innocent man for this reason.

She retired to her quarters. There, today's newspaper rested on her desk. A headline caught her attention, and a smile crept onto her face.

A plan had formed in her head and she was eager to carry it out.

She might even write a book about it.

How to kill your boss: Isuka edition.

She laughed silently and sardonically.

-x-

"Shame about Ace." Jesus Burgess was saying

"Yeah, it would have been better if he had joined us." Marshall D. Teach, Captain of Blackbeard Pirates, had agreed

"Sir, a Marine is here to see you!" Catarina Devon called

"Well, let them in." Teach ordered

Catarina opened the door and Isuka stepped in. She held several wanted posters up for him to see.

"Sanjuan Wolf, sentenced for killing 50 civilians in cold blood. Catarina Devon, who seduced a King of certain country and then slit his throat. Vasco Shot, who ran a human trafficking ring unathorized by world Government. Shiryu of the Rain, a former head jailor who tortured prisoners for his own amusement. Avalo Pizarro, known for cutting up the bodies of his victims while they were still alive. Lafitte, a former sheriff known for his cruelty." Isuka threw the bounty posters in question onto the desk "You, Marshall D. Teach, have freed all of them from Impel Down, which is enough for me to haul all of you back to jail. So I'm making you an offer you can't refuse. You need to kill my Boss, Akainu Sakazuki, for me. Do that, and I will allow you and your crew to slip under the radar."

"Zehahahaha! You have a sense of business!" Teach laughed "But what if he kills me?"

"That won't happen." Isuka said "You have the Devil Fruit that can nullify his Magu Magu no Mi and then you can whack him with the destructive powers of Gura Gura no Mi."

"I agree to your little proposal!" Teach laughed again "Men, let's pay a visit to new Marineford."

"I will open the gates for you when you arrive." Isuka placed a small object on the desk "This is my Den Den Mushi. Keep it close at all times."

As she went back, Isuka smiled. She had stuffed an explosive into Den Den Mushi's mouth, one which could be detonated by the press of a button she held in her possession. Once Akainu was dead, she would press it, killing Teach and all of his crew, the people who sold her Ace out, in an instant.

-x-

"Don't you think there's something off about Isuka?" Ryokugou asked

He and Akainu were having their usual get-together, with coffee. 

"Indeed." Akainu took a sip

"As a matter of fact, this coffee contains a rare poison, which weakens whoever swallows it without killing them." Ryokugou laughed "Isuka probably put it in your cup hoping to get rid of you, the man who killed her beloved Portgas."

"What?" Akainu stared at his fellow Admiral as if he saw him for the first time."Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because." Ryokugou grinned "I want your position."

"Akainu, Sir!" a Marine cadet ran in "Blackbeard Pirates have invaded!"


End file.
